In a very prompt and specific statement Rudy Fernandez, chief of staff of UM’s President Julio Frenk distanced UM from a recent letter by Andy Gomez, Interim Director at ICCAS since August 15. In the letter widely available in Miami yesterday, Mr. Gomez said that he was meeting with Cuban American leaders about ICCAS’s future, Cuban American Studies at UM, and the search for a permanent director. Gomez said that he would offer activities at ICCAS while the search for the permanent director goes on. Many Cuban Americans were confused by his statements. ICCAS has no staff and is expected to remain closed until a new director is selected.

The statement to America Teve 41 by Rudy Fernandez yesterday leaves no doubts that as President Frenk told Cuban Americans last Friday it is “Provost [Jeffrey] Duerk who will direct the search for a new director” and that “the valid statements are those by President Frenk who speaks for the university. Mr. Fernandez said that “UM will not sign any agreements with universities controlled by Castro’s regime because UM does not want to do anything that would provide it legitimacy. To do so would help the regime.

After meeting with UM president Frenk last Friday, seventeen leaders from the Cuban American community believed that all activities at ICCAS were suspended until a new permanent director will take charge. Many continue to call for Dr. Gomez to be released from his duties as Interim Director. The statement by Chief of Staff Rudy Fernandez reaffirms Dr. Frenk’s pledges to the Cuban American community.

On August 15th I was appointed Interim Director of the Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies at The University of Miami by President Julio Frenk. After being retired from UM for four years, I am honored as a co-founder of ICCAS to return and assist the President and Provost in this transition period.

Last week, President Frenk and Provost Jeffrey Duerk met with members of the Cuban-American community to discuss the future of Cuban and Cuban-American studies at the University of Miami. President Frenk and the meeting attendees engaged in a very fruitful and constructive discussion centered around the shared aspiration to strengthen the Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies (ICCAS) at UM into a center for scholarly excellence within the University’s academic mission focused on research, teaching and community service.

President Frenk announced at the meeting that the search for the next director, headed by Provost Jeffrey Duerk will commence immediately. The University will develop a mechanism for the Cuban-American community to provide input on this important search. In the meantime, I have started meeting with a number of Cuban community leaders seeking their opinion on the future of ICCAS. While the search for a permanent director is underway, President Frenk made it very clear that no policy changes or additional hiring will take place at ICCAS. President Frenk also assured the attendees at the meeting, that the University will not establish any Institutional agreements with the Cuban Government, including its universities.

In my role as Interim Director of ICCAS, I will advise the provost on the Future of the Institute. While we are in this period of transition, ICCAS will have limited activities. We will notify you when these activities will take place and hope that you will join us. The University of Miami shares a strong history with Cuba. Cuban-Americans have helped build the University of Miami into a top-tier research institution and helped define the identity of Miami itself. I have no doubt that under the leadership of President Frenk, this commitment will continue and will strengthen across the university.

I invite you to reach out to me with your thoughts about the future of ICCAS.

Inspire America Foundation is pleased to announce that after month-long conversations between IAF and the University of Miami about the future of the Institute on Cuba and Cuban American Studies, the University has made the following decisions:

UM will not enter into any agreements with the current government of Cuba and its Universities;

UM will maintain and strengthen the Institute on Cuba and Cuban American Studies;

UM will begin the search for the permanent director immediately, under the responsibility of the University Provost -not the interim director;

UM will allow the Cuban American community to have input on the selection of a permanent director for the Institute;

UM will not hire any staff or faculty, nor change any policy of the Institute until a permanent director is appointed.

These decisions are win-win solutions that will help the University take the leadership of Cuba studies in the US with support from its host community.

Over a month ago news broke over allegations that University of Miami’s new President, Dr. Julio Frenk, made the decision to close the Institute on Cuba and Cuban American Studies and dismiss its long-time Director, with the ulterior motive of following a more pro-Castro line. The University denied the allegations but appointed an interim director who was engaged with cruises to Cuba promoting business opportunities with the Regime. The interim director also indicated he would “restore” the “academic integrity” of ICCAS, and would be involved in selecting its permanent director, further adding fuel to the speculation that ICCAS would either be dissolved or change into a pro-regime institution.

Many community organizations wrote letters or issued press releases or called the University with their concerns. We, at the Inspire America Foundation immediately contacted the University and began a series of talks with its leadership. IAF and UM discussed the matter almost daily in an effort to find a solution and provide the Cuban American community with concrete assurances that ICCAS would not be closed or become a center of pro-Castro propaganda. Similarly IAF met with numerous other community organizations to ensure their concerns were addressed in any solution which would be adopted. Particularly important to this process were Sam Verdeja and Cesar Pizarro of FACE, and Orlando Gutierrez and Silvia Iriondo of MAR por Cuba.

All efforts led to a meeting on August 18th between the President, the Provost, two of its Trustees, and other senior UM officials joining seventeen of Miami’s most prominent Cuban Americans, and its most prominent American-Cuban, Ambassador Jim Cason. The group included members of FACE (Facts About Cuban Exiles), the Presidents of the Bay of Pigs Brigade 2506 and of Operation Pedro Pan Historical Committee, and Cuban Americans in leadership positions in business, journalism, and other fields. Inspire America Foundation was represented by Diego Suarez and Marcell Felipe.

The group discussed how Cuban Americans came to Miami, a small town, and contributed to the creation of one the most desirable’s cities on earth and the University of Miami in particular. The group discussed the horrors that Cuba has endured and continues to endure at the hands of the worst dictatorship ever seen in our hemisphere, and how that dictatorship specifically targets US academic institutions.

Particularly important to the solutions were UM Trustees Manny Kadre, President of MBB Auto Group, and Enrique Falla, now a retired executive and philanthropist, but once a member of an advanced CIA infiltration team. Also key was the intervention of Diego Suarez. Mr. Suarez was a one of the founders of Jorge Mas Canosa’s Cuban American National Foundation and is now a founding member of the IAF’s Advisory Board. Ultimately, however, it was the decision of President Julio Frenk, who, with the assistance of Rudy Fernandez and Jackie Menendez, helped turn the page and allow everyone to focus on the future of the University and of ICCAS.

17 leaders of the local Cuban-American community to discuss the future of the Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies (ICCAS), and to address circulating rumors that falsely report UM will be shutting down ICCAS.

Community members, as well as Student Government President Adrian Nuñez and Federación de Estudiantes Cubanos President Kristine Reynardus, met with Frenk and other senior administrators for an invitation-only conversation. Nuñez and Reynardus were at the meeting to present the student perspective on the academic future of the institute.

Press were not allowed to cover the event in order to give attendees the privacy to freely express themselves, university spokesperson Megan Ondrizek said.

According to a statement released by the university following the meeting, Frenk reassured the 17 leaders that UM will not establish “any institutional agreements with the current Cuban government, including its universities.”

The ICCAS issue, the first public clash between the new president and the community, grew throughout the summer after former ICCAS director Jaime Suchlicki left the university. Suchlicki, who has a large base of support in the Cuban exile community in Miami, is reported to have said he resigned due to disagreements with the direction in which the university was steering Cuban studies. The university holds he retired after 50 years of service to UM.

The controversy unfolded parallel to evolving Cuban policies. The organization Facts About Cuban Exiles (FACE) wrote an open letter to President Frenk in July, calling for him to ensure the continuation of ICCAS at Casa Bacardí, where the center is historically located, and realistic views of Cuba after Fidel Castro’s death.

The letter also implied a difference of values with interim director, former Assistant Provost Andy Gomez, who began on Tuesday.

“The reality is that we are not in a post-Castro Cuba, as the Castro dynasty still holds power and will continue to do so even if behind a figurehead,” the letter read. “Casa Bacardí was not only ICCAS’ home, but also the intellectual home of Cuban exiles. If it is no longer led by Dr. Suchlicki, and instead led by someone willing to live with the fantasy of a ‘post-Castro Cuba,’ then it will be a fantasy that Cuban scholars in freedom cannot abide by.”

Today’s statement also announced that UM Provost Jeffrey Duerk will head a search for the instuitue’s new director and the university “will develop a mechanism for the Cuban-American community to provide input on this important search.”

Today, University of Miami President Julio Frenk met with 17 leaders representing a cross-section of the Cuban-American exile community, where they discussed the future of Cuban and Cuban-American studies at the University.

President Frenk and the meeting attendees engaged in a fruitful and constructive discussion, centered around the shared aspiration to strengthen the Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies at the University of Miami into a center for scholarly excellence within the University’s academic mission focused on research, teaching and service.

The University of Miami announced that the search for the next director, headed by UM Provost Jeffrey Duerk, will commence immediately. We will develop a mechanism for the Cuban-American community to provide input on this important search. While the search for a permanent director is underway, no policy changes or hiring will take place at the Institute.

President Frenk also assured the attendees that the University will not establish any institutional agreements with the current Cuban government, including its universities.

The University of Miami shares a strong history with Cuba. Cuban-Americans have helped build the University of Miami into a top-tier research institution and helped define the identity of Miami itself. The University will continue to serve its community as an invaluable resource for those interested in the Cuban experience, Cuba’s history and its future.

As a global university, the University of Miami is committed to being a leader in the field of Cuban studies